Bayville Woman Changes Eating Habits for Health

Loretta Crum had gained way more weight than she wanted following a back injury. Two years ago, she decided to do something about it and made substantial changes.

Those changes have left her an amazing 60 pounds lighter.

“I decided to have a new relationship with food,” she explained.

Loretta, a senior manager in the telecommunications field, stopped socializing and celebrating around food. Instead, she focused on other activities like taking walks with friends or inviting them over to go on her boat. When she can, she cooks for her friends rather than going to a restaurant. That way, she can make a healthy meal. If they do go out, Loretta will often split a meal.

Now, she only eats when she’s hungry. The result is that she has taken control over the food, which has made her healthier.

There are other areas of her health in which she has always been diligent, including getting a mammogram. Two of Loretta’s grandparents had cancer, and when Loretta was just a young woman, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother survived, but Loretta knows that she has a higher risk. She’s gotten many mammograms over the years, sometimes twice in a year.

Until her last one, she expected them to leave her in pain. This last experience, her first time coming to ella health, was entirely different, she said.

“When you walk in it’s so calm and relaxing, it’s almost like going to get a massage,” she said.
She liked the warm robe and the private dressing area, but especially appreciated that the mammo tech used a soft pad on the machine.

Loretta said she also likes the thoroughness of the cutting edge 3D imaging system that ella uses. This technology improves the likelihood of finding cancer while decreasing the chance of having a false positive.
She has always believed that mammograms are important, but now she feels better about going in. Her advice to other women is to not be afraid.

“It’s better to know than to not know,” she said. “And it can be a positive experience.”